Anne settinge by Ciaran, played by St. Matty. Returne to the Maine Page.

Althora

The story takes place on the far off world of Althora, a truly ancient
realm shrouded in mystery and unknown. Not even the peoples of this
land know the full account of their history, save for a single legend
known to all cultures.

The myth speaks of a great shadow that once held the entire world in
thrall, dooming all the races to an existence of suffering and
despair. After many eons the gods became aware of the terrible pain
of the people of Althora, and some among them felt pity and were
angered by the injustice. And so they travelled across the planes and
taught the secrets of magic to the greatest among the races in the
hopes they could free themselves from their misery. All the peoples
were united in rising against the darkness, and although their losses
were many their strength was great and their courage was
indefatigable. After a long and desperate struggle they finally
emerged victorious, as masters of their own destiny.

A golden age followed, as the great heroes of the war against shadow
founded the Iltharyn Empire, a grand assembly of the best and most
talented minds of the age, working together to forge a glorious new
society for the good of all people.

…

Few today know what became of the Iltharyn, but among the scholars
that study the many relics of their civilization a tale of their
demise has been written.

It says that in the time after its creation, many of the cultures of
the empire founded churches to worship the gods that helped them gain
their freedom, while the ruling council of the Iltharyn concerned
themselves with ambitious plans to extend their power and technology
to new heights. But over the course of time the schemes of the
council began to change subtly, and those in charge became more
interested in power for its own sake, rather than for the good of
their citizens.

As the accomplishments of the Iltharyn grew, so did the freedoms they
sacrificed to fuel their ever greater aspirations. It was decreed
that the worship of distant deities was a dangerous distraction and
all religious organisations and practices were forbidden, causing the
gods to eventually turn their gaze and forget of the people they had
once saved. The Iltharyn Empire became more and more oppressive,
expelling any who spoke against the council and ignoring the people’s
demands for food and security in favour of obscure arcane research and
technological advancement. During this cruel age the Iltharyn
achieved many great things and reached unforseen heights of power and
authority, but eventually the weight of their repression was too much
for the people to bear any longer. They rose against them in a bloody
civil war that shook the world and threw it back into darkness.

…

Millennia have passed since the Iltharyn Empire fell and the world was
plunged into the long dark-age from which it still has not awoken. The
world is now covered with vast stretches of untamed wilderness, broken
only by the few beacons of civilization that have survived. The
regions in between these havens of society are largely unexplored;
ancient fey woods, exotic lost islands, colossal mountain ranges and
enigmatic Iltharyn ruins dot the landscape, waiting to be discovered.

The history of the past ages is almost entirely forgotten except for
the few fragments of lore carefully collected and pieced together by
those who study it. Across the land people have begun to worship the
gods again, building churches and founding orders in their names, but
the followers of these societies do so more out of a sense of culture
and tradition than any real connection with their deity. All but the
most fanatical know it has been an age since the eyes of the Astral
Sea watched over Althora.

…

Your tale begins in a small town named Odenfell, in the realm of
Midvar, a place of misty foothills, quiet villages and dark forests of
towering pines. Its people are humble and provincial, though
generally accepting of strangers. Magic is known of and accepted as a
force that permeates the world, but actual examples of magical people
or beasts are extremely rare, and local knowledge of magical lore
leans towards misinformation and superstition.

On the south side of Odenfell its old wooden dock rests on a dark
pebbled beach facing onto the Sea of Stars, a body of water as
tranquil and mysterious as its namesake, which connects the town to a
few nearby islands and villages, as well as some larger cities far to
the south and west. To the north a ruined highway travels through the
valley of Furn to the kingdoms of the north-lands. To the east and
west dirt roads pass along the shores of the sea, connecting scattered
hamlets while winding through the wilderness.

Although the town is usually quiet and uneventful, it is a common
place for travellers to stay on the way to other destinations, and
there are always a few people in town each week, recuperating for a
while before continuing on their journeys. Eventually all of these
travellers will end up at The Golden Hammer, Odenfell’s only inn and
the centre of the town’s social scene.

It is here that each character has arrived, for whatever reason, and
is currently spending a chilly, early spring afternoon entertaining
themselves in the main room of the inn.

Races

Dwarves – By Bard

Long ago, when the great shadow still held Althora in it's grip, a race
of mighty and barbarous dwarves thrived throughout Althora. They burned
and pillaged with abandon, granted unnatural strength and prowess in
battle by wild and capricious primal spirits they served.

The oldest of legends tell that when other dwarves retreated under the
mountains to take refuge from the encroaching shadow, the criminals and
troublemakers were outcast and left on the surface to fend for
themselves. Mostly shunned by the other civilized peoples – who
had their own troubles – the dwarves came to call the wilds their
home.

They learned to survive and their fortitude drew the attention of myriad
minor spirits, forces of nature and demigods, who competed for their
worship. In time, the wild dwarves grew strong and numerous enough to
prey on those who had cast them out. Warbands numbering in the hundreds
or sometimes thousands would spring up rallied under a single banner for
an orgy of destruction, then just as rapidly melt away again into the
wilderness where they dwelt in untold numbers.

The rise of the Iltharyn Empire and dawning of the golden age spelled
disaster for the barbarous dwarves. Though powerful, they were
uncoordinated and prone to infighting especially in the face of a
well-armed and organized opposition with the might of the gods on their
side. They were gradually pushed back into the most inhospitable and
savage corners of Althora where the Iltharyn did not care to pursue them.
Their displacement into wild regions put them into competition with other
powerful foes; wild animals, fearsome beasts and evil races all worked to
whittle down their numbers. Some fled into the deserts where they dug far
beneath the sands to meet an unknown fate, some into the deep forests
where they fell to the arrows of elves unsympathetic to their barbarous
ways. In the alpine regions where Duerim's ancestors were forced to flee,
they secured possession of the land through countless bloody battles, but
the freezing winters took their toll and many faced starvation. The
dwindling population splintered into tribes, competing for resources and
after a long time, they reached an equilibrium with the land and each
other… mostly abandoning their barbarian ways to the past, and
existing as semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers. They've come to regard their
violent past with the kind of fond nudge'n'wink nostalgia of someone
telling a story of how they had a great uncle who was a pirate and slave
trader – largely ignorant of the true extent of suffering and
bloodshed inflicted by their forebears. Modern dwarves look on the
mountain tribes as rugged and noble hunters, braving the harsh outside
world simply because it's how they've always lived.

Their spirits and demigods followed them into the wilds, similarly
displaced by the merciful gods who had come to bring light and hope to
the people of Althora. The newfound peace of their once worshipers was
not to their liking, and so they retreated to the quiet corners to await
a time when they will be worshiped once more by those willing to make
strife and sow chaos for their amusement.

Githzerai

As there are no Gith native to this world it is unlikely that more than a
handful of people would recognise one, and whatever reaction they might
have to meeting one is entirely unknowable. Most common folk would
assume a Githzerai to be a particularly unhealthy looking elf, though
after spending some time with them they’d likey realise that a Githzerai
is unlike any creature they’ve ever met. Whether individuals will
respond to this revelation with mild curiousity or genocidal rage remains
to be seen…